Four Seasons brightens the holidays for hospice patients

Published: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 9:46 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 9:46 p.m.

“During this dark time of year, we see lights everywhere,” Elizabeth House chaplain Jane McKown said Friday night as Four Seasons illuminated the hospice for the 23rd annual Tree of Lights celebration.

“We light candles to celebrate our religious traditions of celebrating love and light,” McKown said. “These candles not only bring beauty to our surroundings, but also a flicker of hope.”

Each year, Four Seasons hosts a holiday event and fundraiser for its patients and families. Six hundred luminaries were inscribed with the names of loved ones who have passed, in a show of remembrance.

“While some of us are caught up in the excitement of the holiday season, others may be finding ourselves wishing we could just go to sleep and awaken sometime after January,” McKown said. “Holiday traditions may bring us comfort and joy, but others bring sadness because they remind us of a loved one who is not celebrating with us this year.”

The event raised $80,000 to support the cost of care and programs provided by the hospice.

“When you really consider (that) the cost of care for a patient a day is about $150, it allows us to do a lot within our community, especially for those who don't have the means,” Vice President of Sustainable Resources Derek Groves said.

This is the second year Four Seasons has hosted the event at the hospice.

“The event is really emotional for our families every year,” Groves said. “When we were on Main Street, we needed to clean up because it wasn't our home.”

Moving back to their homestead, Groves said, allows families to meet with bereavement counselors and spend as much time as they want with their luminary.

“We miss being on Main Street and loved being a part of that, but it was just the right thing for our families at the time,” Groves added.

State Farm agent Judy Stroud found herself trying to navigate her mother's end-of-life care earlier in the year. Her mother, Mary Stroud Pittman, was living in Marion, but because Buncombe County's hospice facility was full, she was able to be taken care of at Four Seasons, close to Stroud's home.

“When you have someone that's been in a long-term care facility - my mom had been for five-and-a-half years - and they did relatively well, but the last month they really just sort of forgot her, and so when we got here she was at that point that we knew the end was inevitable and it was close,” Stroud said.

Stroud's mother lived out her last eight days at Elizabeth House.

“She passed easily and they made everything very comforting, and they were always concerned with her needs and our needs as a family, and they couldn't have done more,” Stroud said.

Her mother passed on Valentine's Day. Since then, Stroud has joined the board of directors for Four Seasons and said she wants to give back to the community that gave so much to her family.

“When they escorted my mother down the hall to take her to the hearse, doctors, nurses, administrative people ... lined the halls as they took her out, and it just really touched me. She was able to die with dignity and grace.”

<p>“During this dark time of year, we see lights everywhere,” Elizabeth House chaplain Jane McKown said Friday night as Four Seasons illuminated the hospice for the 23rd annual Tree of Lights celebration.</p><p>“We light candles to celebrate our religious traditions of celebrating love and light,” McKown said. “These candles not only bring beauty to our surroundings, but also a flicker of hope.”</p><p>Each year, Four Seasons hosts a holiday event and fundraiser for its patients and families. Six hundred luminaries were inscribed with the names of loved ones who have passed, in a show of remembrance. </p><p>“While some of us are caught up in the excitement of the holiday season, others may be finding ourselves wishing we could just go to sleep and awaken sometime after January,” McKown said. “Holiday traditions may bring us comfort and joy, but others bring sadness because they remind us of a loved one who is not celebrating with us this year.”</p><p>The event raised $80,000 to support the cost of care and programs provided by the hospice. </p><p>“When you really consider (that) the cost of care for a patient a day is about $150, it allows us to do a lot within our community, especially for those who don't have the means,” Vice President of Sustainable Resources Derek Groves said.</p><p>This is the second year Four Seasons has hosted the event at the hospice.</p><p>“The event is really emotional for our families every year,” Groves said. “When we were on Main Street, we needed to clean up because it wasn't our home.”</p><p>Moving back to their homestead, Groves said, allows families to meet with bereavement counselors and spend as much time as they want with their luminary.</p><p>“We miss being on Main Street and loved being a part of that, but it was just the right thing for our families at the time,” Groves added.</p><p>State Farm agent Judy Stroud found herself trying to navigate her mother's end-of-life care earlier in the year. Her mother, Mary Stroud Pittman, was living in Marion, but because Buncombe County's hospice facility was full, she was able to be taken care of at Four Seasons, close to Stroud's home.</p><p>“When you have someone that's been in a long-term care facility - my mom had been for five-and-a-half years - and they did relatively well, but the last month they really just sort of forgot her, and so when we got here she was at that point that we knew the end was inevitable and it was close,” Stroud said.</p><p>Stroud's mother lived out her last eight days at Elizabeth House. </p><p>“She passed easily and they made everything very comforting, and they were always concerned with her needs and our needs as a family, and they couldn't have done more,” Stroud said.</p><p>Her mother passed on Valentine's Day. Since then, Stroud has joined the board of directors for Four Seasons and said she wants to give back to the community that gave so much to her family. </p><p>“When they escorted my mother down the hall to take her to the hearse, doctors, nurses, administrative people ... lined the halls as they took her out, and it just really touched me. She was able to die with dignity and grace.”</p>